


The day that started it all

by AwaitingWinter



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Crack, F/M, Multi, SHIP DARCY WITH ALL THE THINGS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-03-05 04:19:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3105479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwaitingWinter/pseuds/AwaitingWinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy lewis has a fateful encounter with Captain america, or rather, his chest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

Darcy sat upright, hanging onto every word said between the couple who had made themselves such a spectacle to the curious brunette. Her iPod placed aside onto the park bench, she leaned further into the scene of a beautifully orchestrated proposal. Right in the middle of central park stood two men, both blond and beaming with both smiles and tears; one of them had his hair slicked back instead of the loose and wavy alternative his partner had.

"Darling, you've been with me through everything. Everything. You've made my nightmares: dreams, my tears: laughter." The man with the tousled hair started to say (just as he signalled the small string quartet nearby to stop playing the classical rendition of a pop song the couple seemed to love. If Darcy was right, it sounded like it was a particular song she was a little embarrassed to call one of her iPod favourites).

He kneeled and produced a little velvet box from his trembling hands, looking up at the other as if he was the literal light at the end of the tunnel.

"So now I ask you, will you make my greatest happiness in life even better?"

Oh god things were picking up, Darcy felt so tense even if she wasn't anything to do with this situation.

"Will you, Jacob Hampstead, marry me?"

"I..."

"Come on, go for it" she silently urged him, a bunch of mums nearby seemed to be mumbling the same.

"I... Yes, yes of course!"

Applause erupted from everyone nearby as the newly-engaged-two hugged. Darcy grinned and clapped too, it was adorable that so many people were getting so romantic today, even if she wasn't. Not that she minded really, Valentine’s day had always been _way_ too corny for her and it’s not like she had anyone she actually wanted to get loveydovey with - at least not since she broke it off with Ian.

The whole relationship was built off one heat of the moment mistake back in London, and she was over it the moment the whole battle thing ended. But god he definitely wasn't.

He just kept on calling and calling, asking if she could go out to the pub with him, to go out to the movies - and Darcy kinda went with it because _hey, I'm not gonna be here long anyway and its not like I have anyone else desperate to get with me, so I should try it out before I do something stupid like pounce on Thor out of my own desperation_.

Not like she would pounce on Thor (even though he was basically the epitome of tall, blond and handsome: he was still like a brother to Darcy and the boyfriend of one scary astrophysicist).

So she went with it to occupy the last few weeks of her trip before she was going back to NY to keep working with Jane on all this new data that had come to light. But he must of been operating on dog years because before you know it, he asked Darcy to move in with him and transfer to a London SHIELD branch.

An offer which she very politely declined, a.k.a. said she was going to think about it and immediately booked a flight back to America.

A shitty thing to do?

Yep.

But that didn't mean he could just shed the whole nice guy persona and become the ultimate nice guy nice guy. Angry texts, voice mails, and emails galore, even a few sexist internet memes were posted on his social media linking it all to Darcy. Then his friends started to do the same thing. I mean, one she could handle, but multiple. Noooooo.

So Darcy did the most obvious thing. She snuck into a high level agents office, used the programming she knew and made sure that he or his guilty friends could never have the balls to threaten her again. Every time they sent her a message, it would be directly forwarded to the shield company threats department.

The company threats department works to eliminate any sort of hostile behaviour towards their agents, so when a confused Jane walked into the lab a few weeks later saying she thought she just got a call from Ian screaming and crying about his house being trashed -Darcy knew it had worked.

She then very promptly realised why Thor compared her to Loki once. But whatever, from the shield files she'd seen he looked kinda hot and totally did a u-turn in terms of evil overlording according to both Thor and Jane. Too bad he died, Darcy wanted to go Jane on his ass and slap him too.

Darcy has kept working for Jane as her data lackey because she can't seem to find anything that wants political science skills in their workplace. She probably could be replaced by the endless stream of young astrophysicist interns at any time, but shield probably didn't want a loud-mouthed girl like her out in the world.

So Jane keeps doing her science, Darcy keeps a record of it and makes sure she eats/bathes/sleeps every once in a while. Dr. Banner has also been helping out with the Dark elf attack data and he is the exact same as Jane in terms of looking after himself, so she's been acting as mother goose for both of them.

Darcy picked up her iPod and stuffed it in her bag, just now realising that she has spent way too much time getting all giggly over a proposal and is definitely going to be late.

Slinging the backpack over her shoulder she breaks into a run, the before-work park break really shouldn't have taken this long. Bruce had said something about visitors today, reviewing the work so far. Work that she records and files, so Darcy is in fucking trouble.

She's sprinting now, shield ID in hand, so the guards don't go guerrilla warfare on her and she can get to the lab not in need of hospital. Not again at least.

Slowing down as she finally goes through the doors, she quickly gets into the elevator that goes directly to her section of the building _just_ as the doors were sliding shut. Though instead of finding the empty space she usually does find in the elevator, she found a brick wall.

With her face.

Darcy yelped and clutched her newly injured nose, but then, she feels the wall move. Walls aren't meant to move.

"Ma'am I'm sorry, are you hurt?" the wall says, concerned. She looks up and sees her new epitome of tall, blond and handsome. And god damn definitely not a wall, even if he felt like one.

"N-no, of course not" she blushes, equal parts in embarrassment, and in awe. "I just didn't expect a wal- I mean a person in here, it's my fault" Darcy manages to say, without fainting. At least she's got that.

The man relaxed a little at that comment, but his blue eyes still look as concerned as ever.

"Are you really sure, I mean, you did run into me."

_No, I'm in excruciating pain! Please take me back to your bed and nurse me back to health!_

"No really, I'm completely fine. Sorry about that though, I really shouldn't be running indoors." She nervously giggles and turns around as the doors open again - just at her stop.

Stepping out of the elevator, Darcy flashes a smile at him and quickly makes it to and into the nearby lab before she can make an ass out of herself all over again. He smiles a little back, probably just relieved he doesn't have to spend any more time with someone as clumsy as the infamous Darcy Lewis.

The moment she walked into the lab she was presented with one very amused looking Tony Stark, looking up from his stark tablet, he smirked.

"Did you just call Captain America's chest a wall?"


	2. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of calling a national icon's chest hard as a wall is mortifying, and embarrassing at best.

“Darcy, you can’t hide in the storage closet forever” Jane said again, in between bouts of hysterical laughter.

No, this was exactly Darcy’s plan. Live on the boxes of pop tarts from the nearby shelf and never ever see the light of day. She was debating whether or not she could wash her hair with the present cleaning products, and maybe make a pillow out of a mop head. This was where she was going to live from now on - and with enough time, maybe, just maybe, Rogers would forget about their incident.

“Jane has a point Ms. Lewis” Stark added, his grin was evident on his voice. “And if you still refuse, I’ll just send the video to the Captain himself.”

No, no, no. Stark sending the video to the avengers - Darcy endured, but him? Fuck no.

“Okay, Okay. I heard you.” She groaned and swung open the door. “You happy now?”

“Very.” Stark said with a shit eating grin.

Darcy walked past the three scientists and sat into her chair, blankly staring at the ceiling above her. It probably wasn't very smart to dive into a closet the moment she heard Tony Stark himself had watched the CCTV footage. Next time, maybe she should've tried using the window. Sure, this was the 67th floor, but the concrete below seemed much more inviting.

Bruce seemed to be the only one in the room who still had any regard to Darcy’s feelings, and hadn't watched the CCTV footage that was bound to be viral by now. He approached Darcy with some coffee and set it on her desk with a small smile. “Don’t worry, knowing Steve - he probably didn't even realize what you said. People are a little more forward when they’re interested in him anyway.” he patted her shoulder and returned to his research.

Oh Bruce, he was so sweet, If he was a little younger Darcy would've married him by now. She was surprised he was single in the first place, anyone with a single drop of common sense would have latched themselves onto him at the get go.

His words were comforting enough, but now he’d brought it up, she couldn't stop thinking about people throwing themselves onto the Captain left and right. God, he probably already had at least some sort of love interest. And why wouldn't he? Polite, tall, muscular, and the prettiest eyes she had ever seen. For fucks sake, even his _eyelashes_ were gorgeous. Darcy could feel a hopeless crush coming on from a mile away, and this definitely was one.

“Erm, Ms. Lewis.” Stark leered “Earth to Lewis? Stop fantasising about Captain America’s rock hard chest and look over here, please.”

Darcy huffed and turned to her left, “What?” she said bitterly, more so because she had been caught, than any offence he may of caused for being an unimaginably massive prick. She didn't know him that well, but Darcy knew this relationship could only go very well - or very bad.

“Is it by any chance you’re feeling this embarrassed because of the, ahem, date.” Stark questioned, gesturing towards the calendar next to Darcy’s files.

Oh, It was Valentine's day wasn't it? After all that drama, she had nearly forgot about the park proposal. Maybe she was a little nostalgic to the times she wasn't so busy, and she met people in cafes, clubs and libraries. Darcy hadn't been romantically active in a long while now, and it had started to get to her.

“Are you suggesting that he may of thought I was trying to get him to ask me out for Valentines?” Darcy sighed "So he completely brushed me off with all that _are you okay ma'am_ business."

"Not possible" Jane said, stacking her new research to one side "Firstly, whenever Thor speaks about him, he can't stop talking about how respectful he is. Secondly, like Bruce said, people are normally a lot more forward. So he probably was just being his 1940’s-gentlemanly-self and making sure _the dame was fine_.”

Jane was her closest friend for a reason, a reason she really appreciated right now.

Seeing Stark’s mouth open, Bruce made a small scoffing noise and opened his own “Well we've cleared that up, yes?”

Jane scooted her chair into her desk and picked up her pen, gazing expectantly at her outspoken colleague.“Well, yes, I guess.” He said, finally closing his gob.

Darcy smiled in satisfaction, nursing her already empty mug of coffee. After sorting out some of the data files, she finally spoke. “Well, I better get some food before you all starve and I'm charged with manslaughter.” She pushed her chair away and set the mug down, planning on refilling it with her sacred lab coffee machine later on.

“Bruce and Jane - the usual?” Both heads nodded slightly, too deep in their work to speak at this point. She walked towards the door, turning slightly at the desk of her new acquaintance “And you?”

“I'm pretty sure the Cafeteria staff already know, just tell them it’s my requested meal.”

“Sure thing.” Darcy replied, without any trace of venom in her voice; which was good, it meant her shield training was really paying off - it didn't sound like she was tempted to spike his food with rat poison at all.

This time, she took a lot more caution when entering the elevators. Not that she would particularly mind pressing herself against Steve Rodgers, but the small scraps of dignity she still possessed argued against it. He might think this was all some kind of act, that Darcy was somehow going to fall into his arms so many times she would eventually fall into his bed. _Huh, not a bad plan_ , Darcy thought somewhere in the back of her head, _probably should try it. You know, for science._

Safely placing herself into the hunk-less elevator, she pressed the glowing buttons. The Cafeteria was on the 70th floor, along with a common room, and restrooms. Thankfully, today was one of her friends guard shifts, so she wouldn't feel totally alone in such a massive crowd. Predictively, she spotted him the moment she set foot into the Cafeteria. He stood in the right corner, next to the long panels of contemporary art. Though, even as she could see him, he didn't seem to be consciously there.

“Kalino!” Darcy called, waving her hands over his glazed eyes, “You there?” He shook his head suddenly and snapped back into reality. “Oh Darcy, hey! When did you get here?" Kalino exclaimed, his brown eyes widening.

“I've been right in front of you, doofus.” Darcy giggled, amused she’d caught him daydreaming once again. “You know, if you keep doing this you’re going to miss a whole fight right under your nose.”

She joked a lot about his antics, but it was hard to forget at his height and strength he probably could knock a guy out with his pinky finger. Kalino was 6”2, with a broad face and sharp features, and the darkest hair she’d ever seen. Though his personality largely contrasted with his looks, as he normally was a giant softie who only used force when he absolutely had to.

“Oh!” Kalino grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his arm. “I just- did you hear the news? Captain America is going to be stationed here! I'm going to get to see him all the time, and maybe even meet him! Isn't that exciting?”

“Shit”

_Great_ , Darcy internally screamed, _I make a complete fucking fool out of myself once and now I can never escape it._

“What? Don’t you like him?” Kalino, unfortunately, had idolised him since he was a kid. Oh boy, she did not want to explain what had happened.

“Well - uh something a little embarrassing happened. That’s all.” Darcy muttered, feeling a blush coming on.

“Wait, so you met him? What did you do?! You've got to tell me!” Kalino exclaimed, flapping his hands around slightly and getting some weird looks by the surrounding shield employees in the process.

“It’s a long story, okay?” She mumbled and stared at the floor, feeling like a guilty seven year old.

“Darcy just tell me!” Kalino had brought out the big guns now, pleading and begging like the puppy he was.

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you.” Darcy paused, looking into his eyes. ”But please, promise you won’t laugh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to carry on this series, feel free to drop improvements and ideas for the plot in the comments! :)


	3. The cogs are turning once again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Darcy's run ins with Steve become more frequent, so do the amount of times she makes a complete ass out of herself. Coincidence? Decide for yourself.

“Wait. Tony Stark?”

“Yes.” Darcy repeated to Kalino, wishing for another alien attack to take place already so didn’t have to carry on this wretched conversation.

 **"** **The Tony Stark saw it?!** ” He exclaimed, finally bursting with the giggles he was trying so hard to contain.

“Yes, Idiot! Don’t shout! We don’t need everyone in the the city to know he’s here.” Darcy angrily whispered, side eyeing a nearby man who seemed far too curious about what they were discussing.

 “Okay. I got it.” Kalino said as he covered his mouth with his hands, muffling his laughing.

 “So you understand why I’m just a _little_ worried about his presence in the building.” She huffed - barely keeping herself together.

Kalino nodded and before he could even reply, the little contraption on his belt started to flash.

“Ooh, it’s time to switch.” Kalino said, shutting off the light with the flick of a switch. “I’ll see you later then!” he pulled her into a brief hug and then jogged to the stairs.

It was about this sort of time Kalino had to change his position with the grumpy guard downstairs, so Darcy decided she should make herself scarce before seeing that walking cactus of a man.  Swiveling herself to the direction of the cafeteria, she promptly made her way there; repeating the food orders in her head like a mantra. She managed to make her way in and out without stuttering or spilling anything, which was a first.

Maybe her luck was starting to look up again: enduring all that embarrassment should really give her good karma at this point. Darcy smiled at this possibility and started to walk back to the elevator with her eyes on the tray of food.

What happened next was irrefutable to explain. One moment her pathway was completely clear, and her steps steady and concise. Then, all of a sudden, that was all gone. Her footing seemed to crumble, caught and tripping on an invisible object that was more or less just her overactive imagination.

_Shit. Not **again**._

Her tray began to flip, and for a moment there she could almost see it all play out in slow motion. Darcy already predicting the silence and embarrassment that was bound to follow; with a healthy amount of cursing and scolding too.

The moment she felt her feet lose it’s grip, and her knees give out she heard a voice she had dreaded to ever hear again.

“Whoa there, are you okay?”

With the disembodied voice that met her ears, arrived two hands that snaked around her waist from behind. With the flash of blond hair that appeared to the left of her Darcy let out a squeal in shock.

Steve bloody Rodgers had stopped her from tripping, and had his arms around Darcy and his head right at her shoulder. You know, the whole situation seemed a little **_“Jesus fucking Christ what world am I living in.”_  **but would be fine if the whole room hadn't stopped to stare - with a few even taking out their phones.

****_Ugh, cue the rabid blushing._

“I - uh.” Darcy spun around to meet his face, still clutching the tray that had miraculously survived the ordeal.

“You have a knack for falling.” He raised an eyebrow with that, and Darcy could just about see his lips turning upward into a smirk. “But at least you didn't run into _wall_ this time.”

“You- you heard that!?” She exclaimed, weaker and more startled than intended.

 **"** Ms Lewis, I’d hate to be a little brash” he brought her on her feet and finally let go of her waist “but there is a reason I’m Captain America.”

  _God, he’s a little cocky isn’t he?_

Darcy in no way thought he would be this cheeky. From what she heard from the press, her friends, and everyone - he was a massive sweetie with limited modern lingo who could barely hold a conversation with a woman without blushing. It must be the whole pure and patriotic ideal people hold him up to. Darcy kinda liked it, though. Nice to know he’s got his own personality in that costume of his.

“Well, I guess you’re right there.” Darcy mumbled, trying not to meet his gaze out of sheer self-consciousness. “I really am sorry that this keeps on happening, it must be bothersome”

Steve quirked his eyebrow a little, and sighed. “It’s not bothersome at all ma’am, it’s my job. And I guess from the rampant messages Stark is sending me, you have one too.” He gestured to his pocket, with had been making repeated "pinging" noises.

She gasped and looked down at the tray. It was unscathed thanks to Cap, but losing it’s warmth fast. “Shit. I do, thanks again.” Darcy blurted out before turning a heel and quickly walking to the elevators, not daring to look back at the man who was bound to be sick of her already.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darcy slammed the tray onto a counter, glaring at stark as she did. “You sent the video to _fucking Captain America_ , didn’t you?” she hissed, already greeted by his sniggers.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” he fired back, “But you are bright red. Maybe all that speaking with the captain is making you a little light headed.”

 At that statement, Jane popped her head out of her files with eyebrows up; as did Bruce - but he looked more amused than confused.

 “You've been spying on me? _Again_?” Darcy barked, making a beeline right to his desk. She was bordering on livid, something even Jane had not seen.

“Well, I might of been doing a check up on CCTV, but I never sent him that video.”

“Yeah fucking right, then how the hell did he know my name? Huh?”

Stark opened his mouth to reply, but halfway through a quizzical expression replaced his smug one. “I- you’re right. I haven’t mentioned your name to him, I just texted him a few times asking if he’d seen the girl who nearly leapt into his arms.”

“Nearly _leapt into his arms_? Excuse me, I did no such thing.” Darcy hissed, halfway embarrassed and halfway angry.

But as the two argued profusely, Jane and Bruce’s attentions turned elsewhere. Their heads slowly pivoted to the door, where a certain red head had been leaning.

**“I did it. I sent him the video and your file.”**


	4. Preperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations ensue.

A silence befell the room in a state of shock. Or rather, the shock of the non-superhero civilians in the lab.

“Ah, Pepper!” Tony realised with a frown, “I should’ve known - you _are_ always using power plays.”

“Power plays? I think that’s more your department.” Ms. Potts smiled wearily towards her partner, who nodded in agreement, and then turned to address the rest of the room. Standing poised and regal in front of the doorway, she then began to talk in a polite tone. “I’m very sorry to disturb all of your work like this,” she apologised, “But I do need to talk to Miss Lewis.”

Darcy couldn’t believe what was happening before her. And moreover, the fact that no one else seemed at all bothered by the fact that Pepper Potts had just casually strolled in. Jane at least showed a small reaction, but that was more the surprise that Tony hadn't taken the opportunity to embarrass Darcy further, and not Pepper’s massive presence.

And in truth, Darcy was trying really hard not to scream. This woman was the most put-together, successful, and all around incredible person she had ever heard of. She was always all over tabloids and news stories, and Darcy couldn’t help being a little star struck.

On top of that, why on earth was she associating herself with Darcy?

“I-I’m a little confused right now.” She shakily called out, “I really don’t understand why that was necessary.”

Pepper gave a sympathetic smile, and beckoned for her to come near. “I’m going to have to take you away from your duties, but I promise I’ll explain.”

Tony huffed a little, “I expect you to explain to me too,” his eyes playfully narrowed “Whatever it is you’re cooking up with my new assistant.”

“You will soon, I don’t have time right now.”

“You heard her.” Bruce piped up, and raised his eyebrows, “Better get going Darcy.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Pepper chuckled as she saw Darcy’s baffled reaction, and took another sip of her tea.

“So, Ms. Potts, you’re saying that I’ve been selected as a sort of political date?” Darcy exclaimed with her hands flapping from and to every possible direction. “God. I’m pretty sure there are a million more qualified people out there.”

Pepper had spent the last 15 minutes describing in detail, at the cafeteria, how there was an important charity gala where a lot of political figures were going to be attending tonight - and that she needed Darcy to go. She in return was understandably perplexed, of why and how she has expected to do this.

Darcy was frozen in thought for a few moments, until she took a swig of her coffee. “And if you’ve ever gone the weird parts of the internet…” Darcy trailed off to a whisper, “They’re all really up for it.”

Pepper sighed a little. “I am, unfortunately, aware of that.” She mock-shivered before she continued, “But you are very qualified. It says it all on your file: Political science, performing in high risk situations, and I know for a fact that you’ve actually met and befriended Steve.”

Darcy automatically grinned a little at the mention of his name, but immediately denied him having the slightest effect on her. No, she wasn’t smiling because of him. No. It was just that she had been just been given an exciting, and very serious, mission.

“So what, I’m meant to act like his…” Darcy gave a flustered huff and cleared her throat, “his lover?”

“Basically.” Pepper replied, “Feigning love and vulnerability is the easiest way to gain the trust of these people. They’ll see him as more of a human if he has this close bond to another, and be more open to give their aid.”

“That does make sense.” Darcy said after drinking the last of her coffee, “But as partners, I’m not meant to seem too affectionate, am I?”

“Don’t worry, you two won’t be asked to ravage each other.” Pepper giggled with her hands clutching her teacup, “Just try to seem that you’re completely smitten – arm in his, smiling and whatnot.”

_A shame,_ she thought, _I’d love to ravage him._

“Unfortunately for us, Steve doesn’t get out much and hasn’t formed many of those bonds with ‘normal, trustworthy’ civilians. So you’ve been a god-send Miss Lewis, you’ve managed to acquaint yourself with him this very day.”

Darcy smiled in response, proud that she was actually needed in her workplace for once. In such bliss, she almost forgot the sheer embarrassment she’d caused for herself in one day, and how it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think a repeat was in order.

“It wasn’t the best first meeting though, as you must’ve seen.” She sheepishly said, her head now swimming with all kinds of shame.

“Ah, it really wasn’t bad. I would’ve done the exact same.”

Her eyes widened, with eyebrows raised, “Really?”

“Oh, well I might be in a relationship, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind! I’ve definitely contemplated ‘bumping’ into him now and again.”

Even in such a short interaction, she and Pepper had managed to start gossiping like old friends. It was really surprising, but sometimes this sort of thing happens. You can barely find common interests with your own siblings but once in a while you meet some stranger you instantly click with. But that didn’t stop Darcy from feeling positively giddy that’s she’s made a friend. She did love Jane and her newer friend Kalino, but Pepper was so much wiser and older, and it felt so new.

Pepper and Darcy carried on giggling and chatting, until about ten minutes later when Pepper’s phone went off. She hesitantly calmed herself down and took a look, and beamed.

“That’s our cue Miss Lewis, time to get you ready.” Pepper could already imagine how Darcy would look all done up, and was secretly a little excited that she was going to be giving one of those stereotypical ‘makeovers’.

“By the way, cut that Miss Lewis thing out, I feel like I’m being scolded by my high school principle again.” Darcy said, swinging her bag on with a smile.

“Only if you promise to call me Pepper.”

“Deal.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just reread all the chapters, and I'm a little mortified. Well looking on the bright side, at least my writing isn't as bad as it was a year ago!


	5. Pre-party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hearts will be conquered.

The dress was beyond beautiful, though Darcy really hadn’t expected anything less when she found out Natasha would be the one helping her.

“Jesus Christ.”

“Well that _is_ the response we’re going for.” Natasha murmured as she zipped up the dress.

Darcy decided that the woman staring back at her didn’t look anything like her, because this stranger before her was almost goddess-like. And for some unknown reason that made her both want to scream in glee _and_ melt down in tears.

The expertise of her new acquaintance was extensive, and along with that, she somehow had connections with the best people in Manhattan. With a focused pair of (rather intimidating) eyes she had managed pick out everything that looked phenomenal on Darcy, and this was doing a number on her anxiety. She felt as if she could conquer the world in these new and absolutely gorgeous black stilettos.

Halfway through having her hair done, Pepper regretfully informed her that she was needed for the event’s preparations, but reassured Darcy she’d be given over to another very capable set of hands. When she inquired who this could be, Pepper grinned and told her that’d be better if it stayed as a surprise, and now, she’d be damned if it wasn’t.

So try to imagine Darcy’s absolute awe when in struts the deadliest woman in all possible recorded history, with a keychain swinging around her index finger and smirk that screamed mischief.

The dress was soft and sleek to the touch, a charcoal black that clung to her body perfectly. It had a dramatic heart shaped neckline, and a fishtail shape. Along with it, Darcy had been given a shimmery pair of earrings that matched her sparkly eyeshadow, and her signature crimson lipstick with killer sharp eyeliner.

“It’s coming together.” She said as she stepped back, admiring her impeccable work, “Now that’ll give Steve something to blush about.”

Darcy ripped her eyes away from her reflection to face the redhead, a flustered reply already ready to spew from her lips.

“No, don’t even try to lie.” Natasha squinted, “You look good and I think it’s high time for Steve to be knocked off his feet. Not just you this time.” She ended with grin that was clearly eluding to Darcy’s most recent run-in with him.

She grimaced for a moment before sighing, it seems everyone’s seen just how clumsy she gets around a certain super soldier “You saw too?”

Natasha didn’t even justify Darcy with an answer, but rather gave her an unimpressed glare.

“Why am I assuming anyone _hasn’t_ seen it. Yup. My fault.”

“Hm? Well no wonder. It’s big news.” She said as she circled Darcy, and took a stop at her left and adjusted her hair.

“It’s not every day our resident fossil is wrapping his arms around a girl’s waist – and acting relatively calm about it. I think we should knock him back to size, I know you’d like that.”

At this point, Darcy knew it’d be stupid to even deny it. She let out a little smile, and reluctantly let spill. “I guess it would be nice make him blush for a change.”

“That’s the spirit.” She replied and gestured to the nearby retail worker to leave the changing area, “I’ve gotten him uncomfortable before, but not necessarily… discomposed.”

Darcy, though curious, fortunately had the common sense not to question whatever she must’ve done, and instead decided it’d be smart to ask for advice.

“How do you think I can get him ‘discomposed?’ I doubt I can do it with these assets alone.” She gestured to her chest, “Though it would work on a lesser man.”

Natasha chuckled slightly, and had somewhat of an amused expression.

“Run that by Clint sometime, you’ll have him in a trance in a millisecond.” She moved onto linking a silver necklace around Darcy, leaving it cascading down her collarbones.

“But it’s Steve we’re talking about, and you have an advantage. You’re already meant to act as a couple, so use that. From what I’ve seen, he probably thinks you’re really timid - so don’t be afraid to do whatever it takes to shock him.”

“How?”

Darcy felt Natasha stop fussing about her outfit, and grabbed her by the hand instead.

“I’ll explain on the way.”

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Now if Darcy had to describe her feelings, it’d be somewhat relaxed.

She’d had a pep talk from Pepper, and just heard a strategic battle plan from Natasha in the car ride (along with some vodka to help with the nerves), and was promptly taken to Stark tower.

Stark tower was _very_ Tony, overbearing and loud against the city skyline. Though, Darcy could admit it had a certain magnetism about it. It glittered and buzzed against the starless surroundings.

Darcy stepped out of the vehicle, and immediately her focus was switched to desperately trying to keep up with the fast paced assassin. She made a beeline for the entrance, nodded at one of the guards – who then opened the doors.

The inside was packed with an array of people. It ranged from SHIELD agents, Stark employees, and a healthy dose of fancily dressed guests. This must be the pre-party meeting. Darcy could tell the transportation of the Avengers and their affiliates to the Gala would be stressful, and the small commotion she could see made sense.

Natasha didn’t say anything, and instead put her hand on the small of Darcy’s back and guided her to some out-of-the-way backroom.

“Go talk to Pepper, I need to get geared up.”

She then quickly left to get ‘geared up’. Darcy didn’t quite know what she meant by that, but she guessed it must be either to get into a dress or get her Black Widow on. Maybe both.

The room had a lot of familiar faces, including the entirety of the Avengers, minus Natasha and Thor. To Jane’s dismay, Thor had gone off to Asgard to help out after all that happened there. So it made sense Jane never mentioned this Gala, as she probably refused outright if it meant that she would miss out on science stuff _and_ not even have the privilege of ogling her alien prince boyfriend. Or maybe she wasn’t invited at all.

Whatever it was, it didn’t quite matter to Darcy at the moment.

“Darcy! Oh my god, look at you.” Pepper gasped when she saw the approaching woman.

“I know, Natasha worked her magic on me” Darcy giggled, but quickly snapped out of it, “No wait, look at _you_! I didn’t think you could get more perfect.”

Pepper was dressed head to toe in an elegant white, and the outfit had to be about as expensive as her college loans.

“Shh, keep talking like that and I’ll get an ego the size on Tony’s. Oh and about him, He knows about your faux date with Steve, so expect some teasing.”

She looked around till she spotted the huddle of Avengers, “Oh there they are. Steve definitely needs to see you.”

Before Darcy could so much as make an excuse, Pepper had a firm grip on her and was escorting her to the group.

They quickly noticed, as she immediately was greeted with an impressed looking Tony, who excitedly nudged the rest to turn around.

Bruce seemed a little shocked at first, but then looked away with a nervous smile. Clint, as Natasha predicted, was obviously staring at her ‘assets’ through his shades. Call it paranoia, but Darcy was well trained in spotting that kind of thing after her many years on earth. Not that she really did mind.

Steve was the last to turn. He had been facing directly away from her in his discussion with the others. Even from behind, Darcy was sure he looked straight up illegal. The way that suit stretched at his shoulders made her want to rip it off.

_Ok there Darce, keep it in your pants._

When he finally turned around, he looked as if he had been punched.

His eyes traced her figure from head to toe, slack jawed, and gulped when he finally met her eyes.

It could've been her imagination, but Darcy swore she saw him mutter _“fucking hell”_ somewhere in that process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Swearing Steve is the best kind of Steve.


	6. Darling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of the Gala unfold.

It had been Darcy’s absolute pleasure to follow Natasha’s fool proof plan. She had to give it to that woman – she really knew how to prey on a man’s primal wants.

Tony, of course, pounced on the first chance to make fun of the two: which meant a lot of wolf whistles, eyebrows, and sharp remarks well into the start of the Gala. But Darcy was completely bulletproof to all this, in fact, she was quite enjoying it. She got to see the great Steve Rogers beyond discomposed, and Natasha had brought her aside to the women’s toilets to confirm it.

After she checked the premises for people and the odd recording device, Natasha turned around to face Darcy with a slight smile.

“He’s definitely discomposed, right? I’ve had an effect on him?” Darcy squealed and jumped up and down on the spot, grabbing the assassins’ hands in the process. Must’ve been a combination of her _Steve-related-power-trip_ along with the buzz of alcohol that led her to do something that potentially lethal.

But Natasha reacted very gently and gripped her hands back. “Of course you did, he’s completely under your control.” She chuckled, “Now we just need him actually looking at you and getting out of a public space.”

“Or… He’ll catch on and try to play your game against you.” Darcy stopped grinning and opted to listen to her new partner in crime move closely. “He’s smart and arrogant so you need to bring out the big guns soon.”

“Of course.” Darcy smirked, “I’ll get on that immediately, and let's maybe not make it too obvious we’re scheming. That would be a red flag.”

“Spoken like a true agent” the assassin mused, her eyes studying Darcy’s a little more. “Get out and find him, I’ll find another exit.”

Darcy gave one last smile and composed herself as she went through the door. She couldn’t risk getting too giddy. If there was any way of repossessing her dignity – the time was now. So she needed to strike right away.

She spotted Steve speaking to a local government official and decided he was sufficiently distracted for her next big move.

“ _Darling!_ So sorry for keeping you for so long” Darcy said with a sickly sweet voice and her arm wrapped around his, “Hello Governor, I don’t think we’ve meet before.”

The first thing she noticed was the tensing of his muscles as she went to snake her arm into his, second was the brief quickening of his breath, and the best of all, his pupils widening as he looked at her.

“Ah, this must be your partner!” The middle-aged man said, and took her free hand to kiss it, “A pleasure to meet you. But embarrassingly enough I don’t know your name.” The man was polite and seemed kind enough – so an idea sprang to mind.

“Oh, nothing to worry about.” She exclaimed and took both her hands to grab his, “My name is Darcy Lewis, and I’m honoured to have met you.” Darcy giggled innocently and let go, but not before turning to gauge Steve’s reaction. He, as expected, didn’t seem too happy.

The towering man beside her decided to finally speak up, smiling nicely to the government official opposite. “Well, as lovely as a talk we’ve had, I would feel guilty not to offer my partner-“ He turned to her and narrowed his eyes, all the while taking her waist by his arm, “a drink. I’m sure that’s understandable.”

He was playing nice, but definitely speaking in a commanding tone. The governor was oblivious to this and said his goodbyes to the two as the Captain steered Darcy to an empty corner of the bar nearby.

“Now” he began, as he waved the waiter to him, “Do you want to explain this?”

“Explain what?” Darcy naively said after ordering one of her favourite brightly coloured drinks.

“Don’t try to act coy, Miss Darcy.”

A moment of silence drew by as she swirled her drink in its glass, before looking up to meet Steve’s tense facial expression.

The clinks of glasses and chattering felt like buzzing to her ears, and she could feel it all becoming too much. And to be honest, staring right into those eyes was making everything more intense. 

“Could we talk on a balcony? I need some air.”

“I…Sure, of course.” Steve’s eyes melted ever so slightly, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine” Darcy answered, “it’s just too hot in here.”

_You can say that again._

The man hummed in agreement and approached an unattended balcony, letting Darcy walk ahead and sit down on a stool adjacent to one of the best views he’s seen from modern NY. It was glimmering and alive as if the stars above had fallen to the surface. Though, a pretty girl normally did significantly improve things.

“Hm, so you think I’m acting coy, _huh_?” Darcy’s face lit up again, and Steve breathed a quick sigh of relief. “I just don’t know what you’re talking about, that’s all.”

Steve didn’t let his grin show as he caught onto her game, “Do you need me to explain… _Darling_?”

“Nu-uh! We’re meant to look like we’re together. What do you want me to say? _Sugar tits?_ Would that have been more _up your alley_?”

He looked a little perplexed at first, before breaking out into laughter.

“Christ Lewis,” He said in between giggles and wheezing “you’re definitely the first person to call me sugar tits.”

“Trust me I’m not” she shuddered as she chuckled too.

“Then who on earth-” Steve began, calming down.

“My grandmother.” 

“Your _what_?”

“I can’t help it! Okay? She saw you on TV and that’s how she nicknamed you.”

“I need to meet that woman. I think I have a lot of questions.”

“I wouldn’t. She may be old but she can still snatch a man up, she getting married again this august.”

“Again? How many?”

“It’s her sixth time. I have no idea how she meets all these men.”

“I’m guessing it runs in the family then.” Steve murmured to himself, “So are you going to explain this all to me or keep derailing the conversation?”

_Damn it._

“I’m not derailing anything” she lied and stood up – leaving her drink forgotten. It was much more important to seem confident, “As I said, I’m doing my job by acting like your date. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Well, it’s definitely something more.” He fired back and took a small step towards her, signalling to Darcy that he, indeed, wanted to win this fight.

**Not on her watch.**

“Maybe you’re being delusional Captain, all that ego going to head?” She teased, stepping towards him too. “I think you’re seeing things.”

“I don’t think I thought up this whole situation Miss Lewis. You’ve been taunting me this whole Gala.”

Darcy gasped, “I’ve done no such thing!”

“Well I am aware of my surroundings, and you’ve been pressing yourself all over me, grabbing my arm, batting your eyes.” He accused, neither of them aware of how close they’ve come to each other. “And on top of that, trying to make me jealous.”

She now knew she was both metaphorically and physically backed into a wall. The night sky was completely covered by his large chest, and she could feel the stonework behind her.

“And what’s worse, Miss Lewis - is that it’s completely worked.”

It took some time for Darcy to process what he just said and the expression of pure lust before her. She parted her lips, took a few breaths, looked up into his eyes, and answered.

“Well, what are you going to do about it?”

Steve smirked, leant in, and growled into her ear.

“ _You know what I’m gonna do about it_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus christ look who's came out her hole to update this godforsaken fanfic im so sorry i give you all complete permission to shove a slipper down my throat


	7. Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night turns out to be so much more than anyone at the Gala though it would've been.

“We don’t have all day, Captain”, Darcy returned his expression and snaked her arms around his neck. She could see him inwardly smiling as he leaned in.

Darcy was right in that regard, there really wasn’t much time to spare.

But how complex of a meaning she carried with that was unknown to her - well at least not completely thought out at the present situation. Which makes sense, as no one has that well working of a brain capacity when noticing a giant ball of fire just happened to be hurtling towards them at impossible speeds.

She screeched rather comically, leaving the unfortunate Steve Rogers baffled at what new seduction technique this could possibly be, and then felt himself being yanked down to the ground.

But he finally caught on when he felt the searing heat waves above his head, and the noises of destruction just some distance away in conjunction. This definitely set off his internal danger alarms and it must’ve been heightened with the sheer surprise.

He quickly stashed the image of Darcy sprawled out under him into the back of his mind, before he, like any sane superhero – grabbed the flustered civilian and got the hell out of there.

Luckily, no one inside seemed to be hurt, and all that was damaged was the balcony’s wall and the wall on the opposite side of the room. Some terrified catering staff peaked through the new made hole as chaos unleashed from within.

Darcy, on the other hand, was just about as angry as she was scared. She could feel the movement of blood in her body in an annoying amount of sensitivity. She could – quite literally – feel at what speed the liquid passed through her. It must have been a side effect of her heart pounding in such quick melody, and the growing rage she had towards **_whoever the fuck decided to ruin her fucking chance_** s.

Then again, she doubted any of the avengers felt like that at all anymore, and they’ve must’ve gotten numb in these sorts of situations.

His running got noticeably slower when he approached the other side of the hall. Knowing the ride was coming to an end, Darcy did her best to imprint the memory of Steve’s abs _deep_ within her psyche.

“I’ve got her.”

Steven lowered her to the ground before sprinting off to retrieve whatever he needed for the upcoming fight.

“Natasha!” Darcy breathed a much needed sigh of relief when she caught sight of her saviour.

The redhead looked at her for a moment, and maybe even squinted her eyes a little.

“You need to follow me – ok? There’s a safe room hidden around here.”

As she said that, the woman ripped off her dress to reveal a plethora of weapons and gadgets.

Darcy was going to be honest to herself, that was going _straight into the ol’ wank bank._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Replay that- _no,_ a little later”, Natasha commanded a nervous tech grunt, “Right _there_. Pause it.”

With her hand still at the edge of her mouth, she side-eyed the Stark next to her. Tony squinted back to her and told the shield worker to go on her way.

“How ‘bout you take a half day? On me?”, he struck a charming smile and followed through with it as the grunt left.

A silence grew in the small surveillance van after the door slid shut.

“You get what I meant?”, she enquired, “That’s not possible.”

Bruce’s impatient turns in the shield issued chair abruptly stopped as he came to a realisation.

“So this is what I was brought here for.” He nodded with a little hesitation, “that’s what those calculations prove.”

“Exactly,” Tony added, “Even with that amount of heat, she wouldn’t have been able to feel it – _let alone recognise it_ – in that time frame.”

Bruce sighed and leant back in his chair, “So what’s being proposed here? She was in on the attack?”

“That would be very possible,” Natasha murmured, “If so, she’s experienced in lying, I’ll tell you that.” She paused to look at the perplexed man, “But he’s got _other_ ideas.”

“Oh shut up, you’re making me sound like those people in tinfoil hats.”

“Wait, isn’t that what you do anyway?” Bruce quirked, which earned a high five from a smug assassin.

“You walked into that one.” She commented.

Stark scoffed and glared at Natasha, “How outlandish could it be, in all seriousness? We’ve definitely seen worse than this.”

“We have”, the seated scientist agreed.

“Exactly! Yes! Goliath gets me! She’s got to have some sort of super-human ability for this to have happened.” He exclaimed, and then in a lower voice, “Though the whole sleeper agent argument does have its merits.”

“It obviously does.” Banner replied, “So,” he made a little gesture to their group, “are we telling anyone about this? Seems important.”

“Nu-uh Polyphemus, I’m not letting their grubby little hands anywhere near her. If I’m right, that which I am on the regular”, he gave Natasha a look, “I’m not gonna let her become a shield 8th grader science experiment. No dissecting on my watch.”

Bruce’s face twisted in grimace, “Yup, the less dissecting innocent people the better.”

The simultaneous noises from their back pockets lead them to an immediate sigh.

“Briefing”, Stark practically wailed as he stopped the beeping, “duty calls.”

“I’ll see you both later on,” Bruce mumbled, “I’ve got work to do. Tell them the regular excuse.”

“Of course, your jolly green highness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but at the same time...I'm sort of enjoying cockblocking the everliving hell outta Darcy... Sorry girl... (This is a bit short but its plot goddamnit)


	8. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation of the gala attack continues.

Darcy arrived back to her studio apartment at 3 am sharp. Which, taking into account her weekend habits, wasn’t the first time. The policemen outside handed her a shock blanket when she finally got out, and Darcy had hung onto it. Two reasons for this – she’s a hoarder of free stuff, and it would be something to talk about when she finally threw a dinner party.

But looking at her living room at the moment, maybe Darcy needs to post-pone that to after she moves somewhere a little more…Adult? More than one or two friends to actually invite would be a must too.

She had her heels in her hand, and dropped them to the floor the moment she dragged herself over the threshold.

Darcy took a bee-line to the bathroom, shut the door, and took a breath.

Her reflection, while still smoking hot, took her back to memories she’d rather forget. A tired and ghostly stare with smudged makeup and messy hair to match. She was looking at something she hadn’t seen in some time, and it took her off-balance.

Darcy huffed and shook the unwelcome thoughts out of her mind, and did her best to wash away any remnants of the night she just had.

When she looked back up, she was greeted by someone she knew all too much. But she still looked different in some way – off. The longer she looked into her- or their- eyes, the sicker she felt.

She turned to the door, and as she reached out to grab the door handle, Darcy found herself in darkness.

Alike to being submerged in water, she felt herself being held and supported from all sides. Absent from any sense of worry, or negativity, she basked in this safe haven like no time before. But her happiness, blissful ignorance, was not meant to be. Beats, much like a heart, rocked her rhythmically, and tore into a slither of light before her.

“Darcy…”, it whispered, voice causing tremors all over her, “Darcy…Darcy…”

“What is it?”, she called back, trying desperately to reach the source of the voice.

“Darcy, get up.” The voice shook her awake, sending Darcy jolting from her sleep to a direct collision with the cold hard surface that was her sink.

“AH, SHIT!” Darcy cried out and sunk back onto the floor, nursing her pounding head.

It was from what she could tell, midday, and her boss was hunched over her grimacing in second-hand-pain.

“Jesus!”, Jane yelped and staggered back, “Are you ok? God, I’m gonna get some ice, wait there.”

“Good advice Jane, I was really thinking about going for a stroll in the park right about now.” She hissed back.

It was fine, just the normal run-of-the-mill reoccurring fever dream. Probably from the effects of sleeping on the bathroom floor – still in her expensive dress and jewellery, mind you.

“Darcy”, her intruder sighed, “What happened?”

She took a moment to take the frozen peas and dab it onto her head before answering, “I’m not too sure, to be completely honest. It…It was probably the shock…and maybe light exhaustion?”

Jane opened her mouth to scold her, but before she could speak, Darcy interrupted.

“Yeah I know, I know what this look like. But I promise you I wasn’t blackout drunk for god’s sake. I just had some fancy shamncy alcohol.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Have you not been looking the news or what?”

“No – no, I heard about what happened. I just gotta be sure. You should have called me.”

“At that time of night? No, I wouldn’t want to interrupt your _thinking-about-Thor’s-various-appendages-time_.”

Jane turned a light red and jabbed Darcy in the stomach, “Shut up! I swear, you’re barely conscious and you’re already a pain.”

“That’s what you signed up for, boss lady.”

“…I guess that’s fair…Anyway, I need talk to you about what happened, people, and I mean even the _high level people_ , have no idea what happened last night.”

“Are you serious,” Darcy grumbled, “It was a giant ball of fire, pretty hard to miss if you ask me.”

“You’re right there, it was the effects of a very hot and very powerful attack.” Jane practically buzzed, with her trademark ‘SCIENCE!’ look in her eyes.

“Ugh, ok I’ll indulge you. What the catch?”

“Ok, you won’t believe this, _but_ \- there’s no proof of it beyond the damage it caused.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Were CCTV units knocked out?”

“Nope, but there’s no video proof. Or witnesses! It was an event with lots of important people, so security must’ve seen something? _No_ , again, absolutely no accounts of a big fire ball.”

“That isn’t true, I definitely saw it, and if you haven’t heard – I’m the reason our nation’s most prized abs weren’t burnt to a crisp.”

“Now, that’s the worrying part.” Jane confessed, crouched down to join Darcy, and held her by her shoulders. “They’re suspicious of you for just that reason.”

“They? Who’s _they_?”

“Stark, he spoke to me about it first thing this morning. He thinks something up.”

“Really? Accusing the assistant girl of being AIM?”

“No, not that in _particular_.” Her brows furrowed, “But I’m worried, he can’t be the only one thinking this.”

“There has to be some logical explanation for this, I’m not a double-agent. Barely an agent in the first place.”

“Yes, and I’m going to find it. Now, you need to take a shower, get dressed, and come with me to work.”

“Jane…Are you turning me in?” Darcy stood, leaning onto a wall for support, “What about all those pop-tarts? Were they for nothing?”

“No! I mean, sort-of, I wasn’t meant to tell you all of this. Stark just wants to talk...” Her boss said desperately, and then again, to herself, _“I hope.”_

It took about 2 hours for Darcy to sort herself out and arrive to her normal work desk. She came in with her usual cup of coffee and layered attire. She was trying her best to look and act normal, since the events of last night put all of that truly into question.

She nodded at Stark and smiled at Bruce, before sitting down in her chair and looking over her usual tasks set by Jane: only to find none. Darcy gave Jane a look and she evidently understood.

“Eh-hem,” Jane began, alerting the tense crowd around her, “I think we have things to do today, especially more than usual.”

Bruce caught on next, “Yes, other than the evidence we got from the scene. Live evidence to be tended to.”

Tony huffed and turned to Darcy, “They’re making it a lot weirder that it should be. Lewis, I just need to talk.”

“About what, exactly? I gave my witness statement to those shield goons, what else could you want.”

“The truth might be a first.”

“ _Oh shut up_. The truth? Do you think this was an inside job? Darcy did 2/14?”

“Lewis, I wouldn’t get so cocky if I were you. There’s a hell of a lot to be suspicious about.”

“What? It’s not my fault your surveillance is crap! Why would I blow up some gala for no reason, and on top of that, how do you think I procured magical fucking fire artillery?”

“Kid, you have to calm down. I don’t have the answers-”

“Well neither do I, fuckface.” Darcy slammed her coffee down and grabbed her coat, she sped for the exit just to find the doors locked. So much for a dramatic exit.

“What the fuck is this, Jane. Did you know about this?”, She spat back.

“No! I didn’t! I really-“

“I shouldn’t be here.” Bruce added into the layers of discussion, “This is definitely a safety hazard.”

A vent above them shattered to the ground and out dropped a black clad archer, stopping the shouting in an instance.

“Tony, what did you do now?” He sighed and glared at him, in the exact likeness of an exasperated father.


	9. The inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Imagine the morning after scenario. Now replace whatever partners with a righteous super soldier, and minus the horizontal patriotic tango.

In a matter of seconds, she found the whole of the Avengers crew made their way inside the lab. Minus Thor, to Jane’s lament.

Natasha gracefully dropped from the vent after Clint, thus explaining his ruffled hair and general ‘sexed up’ appearance. From what Darcy could tell, he was most definitely smug about it.

Next, Steve barrelled through the locked door without even so much as a sweat, narrowly missing her in the process. Now wasn’t a time to think about his muscular shoulders, but Darcy was going to have a hell of a time later on this evening. Her sexy playlist and wine were coming out for sure.

He totally had his whole authoritative look going on, and his eyes passed over Darcy’s for only a moment before his focus snapped to Tony.

“Why was this door looked.” He demanded, continuing, “And more importantly, why didn’t it accept my clearance.”

“Good question,” Clint added, “Why did we have to take an unrestricted route just to get in here, _Tony_.”

“I- look this isn’t my fault! You all know who came up with it in the first place.” Tony pointed accusingly to Natasha, all the while she did nothing but sigh.

“When I presented you with various theories, I didn’t ask you to interrogate a civilian.”

“I’m not interrogating anyone – at all. Is asking interrogating now? Can’t I do anything about this?”

Bruce was packing his bag away and stacking his papers, visibly preparing to leave, when he murmured, “I think Darcy might have a couple things to say about that.”

Jane hummed in agreement and waved Bruce off, now exiting through a broken lab door that was off at a hinge, and did his best to try to shut the door, even though it still left a large opening that anyone could peer into.

“Exactly!” Darcy argued, “Locking the door so I can’t leave and other people can’t enter is _very much_ interrogation. The whole consent thing doesn’t come into play last I checked.”

Her piping up meant that all eyes were on her, and from the feeling she got, so were Steve’s.

It suddenly felt very tense between them, as he had moved towards her protectively, and they were just nearly touching. It took everything in her power to not close that gap.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

Half an hour later, Darcy was seated at her desk and everyone else had pulled up chairs somewhat near her. Except Tony, who kept to his own desk and wouldn’t stop mumbling and glaring.

Jane sat closest to Darcy, and acted as her attorney for this in depth conversation. She would cut in whenever someone asked a question that went over the line, defending her against the various _‘are you a double agent’_ type inquiries.

Steve looked the angriest through the exchange, since he’d been left out and now just learning the serious implications Darcy faced for saving his life. On the night, he hadn’t even stopped to question how or why anything happened - he just knew he had to act. Even though the attack could have very well been directed to kill him, absolutely no one had consulted him in this matter. Steve was beginning to wonder if Shield, his teammates or otherwise, were questioning where his loyalties lay, or his potential to create them.

Darcy was aware of Steve’s varying angry expression; that jaw clench was _doing something_ to her.

“I know what to do.” A voice mumbled from the background, interrupting the group’s conversation.

Darcy turned, and saw a frustrated looking Tony Stark refusing to make eye contact with her.

“What?” Steve answered, his voice teetering on bitter.

“Just, let me analyse her, ok? Nothing crazy, I’m not gonna cut her up – just a blood sample and a quick scan.”

“Fuck it,” she sighed, “might as well, better than whatever this is.”

And that was that.

It was decided that whatever findings, whether extraordinary or not, were to be for Darcy and Stark’s eyes only – at least for the time being. Not that she counted on privacy, she worked for SHIELD, and she was willing to bet her practically non-existent life savings they were going to find out some way and soon.

And it didn’t help that they had so many deadly spies either.

Darcy was definitely questioning her upbringing in light of recent events. She had a notable amount of asshole teachers in her academic life, but none evil enough to have secretly indoctrinated her into a life of unknowing espionage.

She was a strong believer that as long as you’ve done nothing wrong: you’re in the clear. The truth always comes out eventually, right? Her mother’s constant preaching about being a good person and ‘doing the right thing’ had to have at least some real world sources. Otherwise, her guilty conscience had been for totally nothing.

Tony, that was what she was calling him now, not fuckface, who said he’d get some sort of intelligible result within the hour, shoo’d her and Steve to go get some food. The good Captain had been adamant to stick around Darcy through the whole process, even though he hadn’t made any eye contact with her in what felt years.

He _had_ attempted though. Earlier, when Tony was taking some blood, he had most probably heard her distress, even through an alarmingly thick glass window (damn that super soldier hearing), and was staring at her with an utmost ferocity. Darcy didn’t comply.

Not that she didn’t want to, far from it. She wanted to stare at those stupidly blue eyes for the rest of her life – but god, it was _just so weird._

She wasn’t too sure now, but back on that balcony, it looked like that boy was ready to devour her. And this aftermath was horribly, horribly convoluted. It was quite literally ‘the morning after’ without _any_ of the pros. And! And- the _tension_! That was probably the worst part overall, since Darcy couldn’t work out if it was an _I-still-want-to-pound-you-up-a-wall_ tension, a _god-last-night-was-a-massive-mistake_ tension, or, worst of all, an _I-hate-you-now-because-you’re-totally-a-spy_ tension.

So she didn’t look at him, especially not when she was half crying because she hated needles, due to all of those possibilities being terrifyingly scary and overwhelming.

The elevator ride down to the cafeteria confirmed that Steve in fact didn’t want to knock her out, which was a plus. An enclosed space like that, Darcy knew he had the power, and suspicion, to be able to knock her round like a pin ball if he wanted to.

Glad he didn’t though, Darcy knew she didn’t have the self-restraint herself.

Also, it would probably ruin his whole _hotter than the surface of the sun_ image for her. ( _Or_ , make it that much more prevalent. But Darcy really isn't up to awaken any kinks that may be lurking under her quirky girl next door exterior). 

The time she spent with Steve in the cafeteria were the stuff of nightmares and she wouldn’t be surprised if it actually made an appearance in one. She shuddered just thinking about it, it was almost as bad as that time Jimmy O'Sullivan tried to screw her in the back of a crowded cinema. Safe to say, his now broken nose has much more character than the old one. Did him a favour, to be frank. 

She couldn’t muster up an appetite at all, and shyly insisted that she’d be fine with a cup of coffee.

Hell, where did that confidence go? She was practically dry humping him the night before, now she couldn’t even look at his face without mentally noting four more methods to successfully end her life.

Steve refused any food, and seemed too busy staring down the judgemental SHIELD staff that surrounded them.

And needless to say, she thanked Thor’s golden locks that Kalino wasn’t present for this tragic spectacle. He had an absolute field day with just the news that Darcy had met Steve, and she didn’t want to see what he’d do with this.

Darcy's predicting a lot of ironic _get well soon_ and _happy anniversary_ cards in the mail. 

The trek back was full of awkward missteps and near-touching, well, it was for Darcy. She didn’t know how well Steve was faring: but it had to be better than her.

This was what it led up to – being uncomfortably near one another in, ironically, the same elevator Darcy managed to very intimately acquaint herself to him.

And hell, she just wouldn’t be Darcy if the elevator didn’t slam its brakes barely ten seconds into the ride.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey kiddos im out of the country rn but i'll try my best to update!! plus, no spoilers or anything, but how on earth am i gonna do smut i can't keep cockblocking until i shrivel up and die ya kno


	10. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy, once again, seems to be the source of all conflict.

Before either of them could say anything, or more importantly - _Darcy could bludgeon herself on the nearest solid surface_ , a message projected itself in bold red letters before the two.

**RECALIBRATING DESTINATION.**

Above that, Stark’s face came into view, his gargled voice was uncharacteristically tinged with distress.

“Lovebirds, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”

His announcement was met with sirens blasting throughout the building. Excitement and loud noises came hand in hand with superheroes, she was now learning.

Darcy, too surprised to even think about her present anxiety crisis, blurted out a very well worded, “What the fuck.”

Tony’s eyes were focused elsewhere, and from the close angle, Darcy assumed he was speaking from inside his suit. The sound and video quality wasn’t the best and most probably due to elevators being bad service spots overall, but that didn’t explain the shouts and rumbling that could be heard in the distance.

“Now, that’s no way to talk to your saviour.”

That really got Steve’s attention. He had already defensively grabbed her when the elevator had faltered, and his grip on her arm got tighter with every development.

“Spit it out Stark,” he commanded, examining his shield security device for any explanation to the chaos.

“Uh well, It’d be smart to get away from the top hatch, for one.”

That’s all it took for the Captain, because in a matter of milliseconds she had found herself pinned to a corner. She knew full well that this was procedural for a soldier like himself, she was a civilian and needed to be protected – but she didn’t know if it was quite necessary for him to be pressing himself so much onto her. She was getting a face full of elevator buttons (ew, germs) and a super concerned Steve looming over her, demonstrating his uncanny ability to become a human shield.

Mid-crisis aggressive spooning aside, Tony in full Iron-Man-get-up arrived barely a moment after, violently ripping off the emergency entry from above and clambering inside.

“Is it an attack?” Steve started, “I haven’t gotten a single alert.”

“That’s because its internal, capsicle.” Tony’s face plate retreated to reveal an ever so slightly weary face, “This intern has caused quite a commotion with the senior execs.”

“I swear I didn’t do anything. I mean, Cap here didn’t let me out of his sight once.” That was a lie, he was doing everything imaginable not to see her.

“I know that Lewis, but turns out we have more leaks than I thought there were.” He sighed, “And the DNA results didn’t help either.”

“They’re not normal?”

“Luckily for you, you’re a special snowflake,” Tony stated, “But that’s also the problem. That and however many agents that may tranquillise both you and I when we make our escape.”

“Stark,” Steve warned, “what’s _actually_ happening out there.”

“If I’m 100% honest-“

“I doubt that.”

“I didn’t like the idea of my science experiment getting taken away, so I caused some distractions.”

“This science experiment does in fact have a name. _And_ an alliance with Pepper.” 

Tony scoffed, “Well if this science experiment wants to live a life of free will, maybe it shouldn’t be threatening me.”

Before Darcy could get carried away in an entirely 3rd person argument over herself, she stopped and reconsidered the fact that they were wasting precious time that could be otherwise spent hauling her ass outta dodge. Tony caught on too, and looked up through the metal hole he’d teared open only moments before.

“Steve, hate to break it to you bud, but I’m gonna have to take her off your hands.”

“As long as your plan doesn’t endanger her.”

“Oh, and the shield, I’ll be needing that.”

“Wha—“, Steve looked like as if his whole being, any and every integral value he had ever held had been simultaneously insulted in one blow; his face was stricken with disbelief and offence. 

“I’m slightly offended that I didn’t get that sort of reaction from you, to be fair.”

“Don’t take it personally kid, he’s very attached to his Frisbee.”

He looked flustered now, a little angry at Tony, but more apologetic to Darcy. “No, I just, I don’t trust him with my shield – it’s hard to replace and god knows he’ll fling it the first chance he gets.”

Oh, _so they were talking now._

“Don’t worry, I need something to protect Darcy with since I don’t really carry ‘round an extra suit – which now, sounds like a great idea! Jarvis, if you woul-“

“Tony! Task at hand! My potential death?”

“Uh yup, no, It’s fine, It’s all sorted.” Tony said, very matter of fact, “Now first, I’ll need the shield.”

Steve reluctantly handed that over.

“And one Ms. Lewis.”

Darcy didn’t need to hand herself over, as Stark sort of – _scooped_ – her into the shield and onto his back. Just now she was wondering why Steve was carrying around his shield in the first place, but then again, it might just be toddler and blanket situation? Which if it is - a little old to be doing.

She did her best to curl up under the shield, with her limbs latched onto Tony’s uncomfortable metal form, her arms through some very handy leather straps attached to the disk (probably made for his forearm, but considering how big that is, it was a snug fit for her arms).

Tony clunked around to face Steve, “I need you to go out there and cause a commotion, Lewis and I are going to get somewhere safe.”

“Safe?” Both Darcy and Steve said, only with her response slightly muffled.

“You’ll be contacted, I’m not at liberty to say right now”

“Right,” his voice sounded softer, yet more determined, “I’ll see you on the other side.”

Darcy couldn’t tell if that was directed to herself or Stark, or why her heart leapt a little, but she felt like melting anyway. She had to remind herself not to slip off, and readjusted her grip with a sigh.

Tony nodded, and positioned himself directly below the hatch. He gave Darcy a second to prepare, before he launched into the emptiness above – it took a moment for him to get properly out of the skyscraper – and during that moment Darcy saw slivers of explosive light and rumbles of artillery within the numerous floors they were speeding past. Their ascent into the open sky was welcomed, and in its height and isolation it almost felt peaceful for a beat, until she heard the incoming hum of the helicopters and shouts over the megaphone.

Thankfully, Tony wasn’t half bad at this flying thing, and even with a woman and a metal shield strapped to his back, he managed to do a decent job of dodging the aircraft and heading as far away from the cityscape as he could. And as terrified and panic stricken as Darcy felt, she could appreciate his effort to save his ‘science-experiment’. That still hadn’t been explained, much to her lament, but it wasn’t the sort of thing you could think about while (at least) a couple hundred feet into the air.

It was maybe half an hour, maybe an eternity, before Stark started to slow down and dip under the all-encompassing trees. He came to a gentle stop – well, as gentle as he could be considering his fatigue, and slowly but surely face-planted himself into the ground with Darcy still clinging on. To avoid any more _prolonged_ awkwardness, Darcy peeled herself off him and felt herself falling to her knees nearby, overcome by a mix of exhilaration and exhaustion herself.

It was at least a couple minutes of panting before she made herself take off the shield, which she shouldered off onto the ground behind her. She finally took the time to look around, and she found herself surrounded by bold greens and browns. It was in the middle of, decidedly, buttfuck nowhere. 

“Tony?” She meekly called out, just now registering that she was on a first name basis with him.

“Uh-uh…” he mumbled back, shifting with minimal effort onto his back, flicking his face plate open when he finally got comfortable in his spot.

“That cabin over there-“ Darcy gestured verbally, too lazy to use the arms that felt so near to falling off, “is that meant to be a safe house?”

“Uh-uh.” Tony repeated, but this time, curter.

“How’s is safer than a common garden shed, exactly?”

“Isss’....” Tony clamoured up to sit up, “It’s meant to look that way, there’s a state of the art security system in there, including missiles.” He sounded much more awake now that he was talking about his own inventions, and hoisted himself to his feet with a suspicious amount of vigour. Darcy suspected he was letting the suit do the moving.

“You’re not gonna take that off? Don’t tell me that’s casual attire for you.”

“Now, since Pepper’s on the intercom: I’m not going to make a very obvious joke and I’m gonna behave myself instead.”

“That’s very honourable of you.” Darcy snickered at his half-pained expression.

“You’re clearly having too much fun with this, Lewis.” He sighed and noisily approached her, offering his hand, “But it wouldn’t be very honourable to leave you on the floor either.”

“I’m touched.” she smirked back, only being a little sarcastic – and allowed herself to be pulled up – remembering to grab the shield while she was at it.

“So, what’s the plan?” She added while she strolled with him to the house.

“Well, first thing, I need to eat. As honourable as I am, I can’t patrol while unconscious.”

“Are you su-“

“Yes, I’m sure, and last time it didn’t turn it well at all.”

“Okay, I gotta go on your word for that one. Food, patrol, and then communication, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah, poor Rogers is probably driving himself insane back in NY trying to figure out where on earth we could be. Which, I can’t even tell you in the first place since it violates security agreements.”

“You sound exactly like Shield.”

“Low blow kid, but it’s for your sake.” He stated as he inputted a code to unlock the surrounding gate. It worked and swung open easily. “Now, hand over the electricals.”

Darcy gasped. “What are you gonna do with them?”

“Cool it, I’m not damaging them, I just need to have them in a signal-proof safe till we’re done with this situation.”

“That’s super suspect.”

“Well I’m not exactly the sort who likes to get rid of valuable tech for something as flimsy as anonymity.” He said, grabbing her bag and proceeding to input the code into the front door, accompanying that with a retinal scan. That door opened too, and they were both hit by a wave of dust.

“Ugh, how long has this place gone unused.” Darcy complained mid sneeze attack.

“The only thing that’s been updated is security and supplies, so, I don’t think it’s ever actually been used.”

She felt better by the prospect of plentiful food, and strutted in through, to be greeted by a snug and cliché interior. It opened out into an open space living room, with a kitchen and dining table tucked into the far-right corner. To her left, she could see two doors, which she assumed to be a bathroom and bedroom.

“Well, it’s bigger than my studio apartment.” Darcy commented.

“That’s… Worrying.”

But not too worrying apparently, because within seconds Tony stepped out of his clunky metal suit and paced it to the kitchen - found something edible and began to scarf it down.

Darcy took this time to kick off her shoes and crash onto the sofa facing the opposite side of the room, and stare at her surroundings with more focus to detail. There was a fireplace in front of her, something she’d never really seen this close ever since those Christmases at her grandmother’s cottage.

She looked back at Tony to see that he’d located the safe, a tall cylindrical cabinet she would’ve passed off to be rich people home décor, and placed her bag containing her beloved iPod within.

He was already done stuffing his mouth, which must’ve been a record of sorts, and was stepping back into his suit.

“I’m not going to be back for at least an hour,” his tinny voice echoed to her, “I’d get comfortable if I were you.”

Darcy nodded back, and waved him off as he exited the cabin and blasted off to do whatever he was meant to.

Hearing the receding roar of his rockets, she fell back into the pillowed and soft surface of the sofa. She was completely and utterly drained, too much so to even think about anything that’d conspired in the last 48-hours – but, as she found, not tried enough to get a certain someone out of her head. It was comforting, she groggily admitted to herself, the thought of him embracing her in somewhere other than a life-or-death situation. She held onto that thought, along with his scent and that really cute way his eyebrows furrow up whenever he’s in deep thought or how his voice dips when he speaks of her or the glint in his eye when he’s comfortable and open --- and drifted into sound sleep.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I might've been super duper duuupppperrr inactive, but at least it turns out I can write longer chapters now? This one is like double the normal chapter length and I'm really happy about that. And guys, get ready for cheesy safe house tropes bc I'm gonna deliver some cliche fanfic goodness :-)


	11. Safe house tropes here we come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe ignorance is actually bliss? Well, it's not like Darcy will ever again know how that feels.

It was that dream again – the one she’d had only the night before. That distinct feeling of safety and all-encompassing darkness was there, if only for a moment, and that slither of light appeared again, giving way to a vision of green horizons and vast oceans.

She was above the world, the wind whipping her hair into her face with ferocity and flocks of multi-coloured birds traversing the skies beyond, and in slow freefall. Not that it alarmed her, particularly, the familiarity of the dream meant she was lucid.

Looking down, she could see a clearing – a moor, perhaps? It looked like a settlement of sorts, the ones she’d seen in documentaries, and most probably prehistoric. As it rapidly approached her, she started to make out people in its midst, wearing brown fabrics and leathers, going about whatever their daily routines dictated, weaving around and into little buildings along the way.

Before she could start considering the implications of slamming into the ground below, the scene flickered to reveal a completely different setting – one with ice and huts and a biting cold – and then again, faster, a desert of nude yellows crowded by labourers and large stone blocks, then, mountainous stretches of farmland dotted with the pink of cherry trees – the land continued to contort and flash with colour and condition till it all merged to a unified sun of blinding white light and swallowed her whole.

She was there again, within that emotional net of security, floating in still and quiet. Darcy opened her eyes to it, and found herself looking out into the cosmos itself.

“Child,” a voice whispered to her, “You’re needed.”

Darcy didn’t look around for its source, as a twinkling star, a little larger than the rest, looked to be the culprit.

“What do you mean?” she asked, “What does any of this mean?”

“Life is a precious thing, dear one, and the Earth would be nothing without it.” It spoke, with an aged and modulated murmur, “This vitality must be preserved and nurtured. We were once called upon to do this work, but now, it is for you to instil.”

“How? Isn’t humanity protected enough?”

“Ah,” it mused, “It’s honourable, this trust you have for these ‘heroes’. They are appreciated, to a degree, but something much greater is in play - something they cannot face alone.”

“What? What is it?”

“A darkness. The acidic, poisonous fire of destruction.” It said, words tinged with rage, “Prepare yourself child of Earth, and awaken to your fate.”

And awaken she did.

In that one moment, the galaxy blinked out of existence and there she was, lying on the uncomfortable cabin sofa – contemplating what sort of freaky shit SHIELD must’ve been spiking the cafeteria coffee with.

It was darker than before, the clock on the wall said it was half past six, and her stomach seemed to agree. Darcy stretched and went over to the kitchen to see if she could pull something edible together, only to be greeted by rows upon rows of canned goods. Not even the normal kind, more of the solider-grade kind, which meant high calories and zero flavour.

Darcy sighed and picked up what looked to be a can of beans and drifted around the kitchen to find other supplies – when she had everything together, which she made sure was all definitely clean – she attempted to tackle the weirdly rustic stovetop. She managed it though, and she didn’t even set anything on fire while she prepared everything.

After eating in a foreign silence and washing up, Darcy found herself exploring the cabin. The bathroom had everything she needed and was fully stocked – and the one bedroom was very much meant to be a couple’s one. There was a dresser and wardrobe, both full of fresh clothing, and a double bed that was most definitely mocking her. Was she meant to sleep here with Tony? Because there was no way in hell she was about to do that. She’d take the sofa even if she had to deal with the cramps.

Upon contemplating that dilemma, she heard a familiar and distinct whirr of wind approach outside – through the window she saw Tony stepping out of his suit and downsizing it into a sort of compact box, all the while visibly mumbling to himself.

Darcy swung the front door open and greeted him with a somewhat accusatory look.

“So, you find anything out there?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing,” he seemed to snap out of his trance, stretching his body out and making his way past her, “You wanna find out what’s up with your DNA?”

“Do I ever.” she replied in a sarcastic monotone.

Tony furrowed his brows, “It’s not some sort of ancient super virus that the execs’ wanna weaponize, if you’re wondering.”

“I sorta was.” Darcy made her way to the dining table and sat down, mostly because she wanted to avoid any fainting related head trauma, and partly because she wanted to encourage Tony to sit too. A weird thing with her scientists were that social suggestion normally worked better than straight up asking. “So, do tell. I doubt me having some sort of cancer would warrant this sorta reaction.”

“Yep, you’re right there.” He pulled up a chair next to her and his face solidified into a stern expression. “Quite frankly, I don’t think you could get cancer.”

“What? Do I have super soldier healing? Because I’ve way too many scars for that.”

“No -  I… Don’t even know the actual meaning of the stuff I found, but I’ll try to explain it the best I can.”

Darcy nodded, a tad bit of determination showing on her face.

“So, firstly I tried to figure out how… _Human…_ You are by your genetic code, and it’s pretty normal except this particular strain of genes. It’s definitely not human-like, I’ll tell you that, and when I cross referenced it with some samples I have off Loki it had – well, the same reaction when exposed to magic. Thor left me this little Asgardian trinket, something that emits light purely with ‘magic’ and I’ve found it does have effects on Thor’s genes too, but not quite to the effect of Loki’s – and I really don’t know what to say but -- yours had even more of a reaction to exposure. Like even more than the crazed sorcerer, apparently the ‘strongest’ one of all back in Asgard.”  


“….Are you saying that…I’m an outer space baby?”

“No, you’re definitely not part Asgardian or Jotun, still pretty human. But – the more I exposed your DNA it started to - I’m not sure how to put this but, change? If I had more time I could’ve seen it through properly but it might’ve been transforming the genes around it.”

“Is that…Something you’ve seen before?”

“I mean, I guess it could’ve been similar to the were-wolves’ deal but their transformation is more rapid and doesn’t involve anything sensitive to magic.”

“Wait, were-wolves?”  

“Uh--- ooh I shouldn’t’ve let that slip. But since Shield is acting up, I’m allowed to tell a couple secrets,” he smirked slyly, “I’ll tell you all about the supernatural sometime.”

“I’m counting on it.”

“Well so other than that, I tried to encourage the creation of cancer cells but they really weren’t having it – I would congratulate you on becoming the cure to cancer but your genes very well might not play well with other people, so, congrats on being cancer proof in the meantime.”

“That’s uh- comforting.”

“From what I’ve gathered, you’re some sort of magical being of human origin – something like a witch but it’s down to one gene that can, I guess, _outperform_ frost giant sorcerers. I’m gonna have to get in contact with the Asgardians to see if they’d know anything about this – but I’m pretty sure that SHIELD is pretty clued up on whatever it is.

“So, I’m some sort of different variety of human but it’s not clear how that’s happened or what it really means.”

“I got my hands on your parents’ DNA properties through some forensic police records, sorry about that, by the way, to see if they had something going on too and while they are definitely your parents, in terms of genetics, they definitely don’t have the same gene.” 

“A mutation?”

“Probably, but it feels like it might be more of an established thing rather than just a freak mutation since SHIELD seemed suspiciously knowledgeable about it all. So, I’m sure there have been others like you.”

“That’s a lot to digest.”

“Yeah, I rather wouldn’t have told you all of this in a cabin in the middle of nowhere while being wanted for kidnapping, but at least it’s explainable that you’re able to see magical shit.”

“Then, was that fireball for me? The more I’m thinking about it, the more I see that it didn’t really intend to scale the building.”

“There would be some sort of follow up in terms of the destruction and terrorism thing, but there wasn’t.”

“So that’s why you were worried? Worried that I’m trying to prove my loyalty or something?”

“Yeah, pretty much. But that fireball is looking more like a test now. Being a product of magic, if the sender knows their stuff, that thing was basically a much more scaled up version of that Asgardian trinket I was using.”

“So, they want the gene to spread? Why?”

“I’m not sure. Knowing normal bad-guy motives, it might’ve been an attempt to somehow weaponize you.”

“That bids the question of who they are.”

“Well, either someone with magic who’s trying to get you to ‘awaken’, or someone trying to get rid of the good Captain in a weirdly roundabout way.”

“Huh…..” Darcy nodded, pretending that any of what he just said actually sunk in, “So – uh, speaking of Cap, what’s he doing?”

“Oh, yeah, got it.” Tony pulled his wrist up and began to fiddle with his watch, “He’s probably figured out where the general area of the safehouse is, since he’s such a smart boy, ol’ sparky, and decided to go off the grid and try finding us.”

“Sparky?”

“What I would’ve named a golden retriever if I had one”

“Weirdly fitting.”

“Uh, so, any moment now.” Tony glared at his (probably Stark branded) watch until a voice gargled out, uniquely patriotic in its tone.

“Stark? Stark is that you? Is Darcy okay?”

“Um, hello to you too, Steve. Yes, we’re fine and she’s very much alive.” Darcy thought she caught an eye roll there and had to stifle a laugh.

“So, am I going in the right direction?”

“Yeah you are, you found my note?”

“You really didn’t have to put it in my underwear, by the way.” Steve grumbled, sounding slightly scandalised.

“Well, for the record, I was aiming for your pocket, but now I think about it, underwear is definitely less accessible than a pocket – so you’re welcome.”

“I’m not about to thank you for coppin’ a feel, Stark.”

“It’s fine, maybe I shouldn’t be the one you’re thanking.” Tony glanced at Darcy, to which she responded by whacking him upside the head.

Steve sighed and steeled his demeanour to a more professional one, commenting “I’ll be there come dawn, and I’ll be expecting you to do what you do best.”

“Ah, you mean, fuck shit up?”

“I’ll recon later.”

Steve’s response coolly dodged Tony’s banter, his voice fizzling out into the steady sound of silence.

Darcy tried really hard to process the fact that Steve seriously uttered the words ‘coppin’ a feel’ while Tony again fiddled with his watch.

“It’s been a great day trip, science experiment, but I gotta kick up a fuss back home.”

“Wait –“ she looked at him as he got up to grab some more food, “So you’re switching with Rogers?”

“Yup “, he answered, his mouth full of something tinned and brown, “I got things to do, Asgardians to contact, Shield execs to scare.”

“What’s he coming here for? Protection?”

“Yeah,” he said in between gulps, “Until we can work something out.”

“How long’s that gonna take?”

“Uhh, If I can get into contact with the right people quickly, maybe 3 days tops.”

“How much of that time are you gonna spend sleeping?”

Damn her science nanny instincts – Darcy full well knew his sort didn’t even sit down until they found the result they were looking for.

“None, probably, so you’re welcome.”

“That’s really not healthy!” she protested, as he stepped out the front door, still shovelling food into his face.

She stared at the panelled walls and briefly contemplated how Steve’s hair felt like, before hearing Tony take off one final last time.

“Fuck, what the hell am I supposed to do until then?” She asked, to no one in particular.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hah, so, you should totally not read this,,, I'm horribly inactive,, poor Darcy, never quite gettin that patriotic D... (I'm not gonna give up on this fic tho, so revisit in 10 years and maybe it'll be done)


	12. Even newer beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy's fateful encounter seems only to be merely one of the events fate has lined up for her. Fate being whom, exactly?

Darcy, in an effort to keep herself busy, tried her best not to think about how she was meant to be shacking up with America’s sweetheart in a matter of hours. This, of course, lead to her having to take a cold shower (the only available apparently if you don’t mind preheating bathwater) – wondering what in the fuck her life had come to. 

Determined to not let this get the better of her, she then went onto grab a couple of logs and try to get a fire going instead. Darcy had noticed the climate here was somehow colder than New York in February, so she could only conclude she was further up north. Why on Earth somethings - such as the fridge - had electricity yet others, such as the non-existent heating (which apparently couldn’t), perplexed her to no end. Was it some sort of effort to not emit too much ‘energy’ for others to pick on? Whatever it was, she wasn’t having it.

How was she even meant to get into bed if the only source of heat was in the living room? She had the duvets and all available blankets piled up on top of her on the couch, while her hand peeked out from under them to poke the fire with a stick.

It had gone from chilly to freezing with the loss of the sun, and Darcy guessed Tony was right to get outta here in the time he did.

In between all her questioning and bitter anger for Shield, the heat emitting from near yonder slowly yet surely lulled her into the peaceful descent of sleep.

Darcy once again found herself in that recognised darkness, yet nothing happened, no dreams were dreamt, and the next thing she heard was a sharp tapping – which shocked her out of her slumber.

For a hot second, in a sort of blind panic due to the fact that she  _wasn’t_  staring at a suspiciously stained ceiling, she freaked, before remembering she was in a cabin in god-knows-where, being hunted by a spy organisation, and there was nothing to worry about.

Darcy leapt out of her cocoon, shaking the blankets off as she did so, and looked at the direction the noise had come from. Steve’s baby blues started right back at her through the window, as he gestured for her to open the door.

She felt a sharp pang from her heart – it still felt real awkward between them after all that had happened, but that couldn’t mean she was allowed to crawl back into her duvet and ignore the nice man outside who’d come all this way for her.

Darcy swallowed her pride and minimal dignity, and stepped to open the door.

Steve was wearing normal citizen clothes, and even though it had all pretty much closed up, she could see the tears in his hoodie opening up to what had to be bullet wounds. She couldn’t help but gasp at that, and before she knew what she had gotten herself into, her hands had made their way onto his healing skin – gently feeling around the two rips in his flesh, dotted upon his left shoulder.

“Fuck, Steve-“ Darcy looked up to him, seeing his own concerned expression, “are you okay?”

His eyes softened, but his face seemed to grow tenser, “I’d like to ask you the same thing.”

“Oh well I-“ she drew her hands back, already paying for her mental one-way ticket to regretsville, “I’m fine, your shield is pretty much the size of a parachute next to me.”

_Fuck, he literally only just told Tony off for ‘coppin’ a feel’, great goin’ Darce, what’s next? Testicular examination?_

“Anyway, back to the matter at hand, why in the fuck do you have bullet wounds?”

Steve’s let out an ever-suffering sigh, “Harder to dodge without the shield.”

That felt like an emotional blow if she’d ever felt one.

“But, I wasn’t really expecting AIM or some other organisations to crawl out of the woodworks.”

“Sounds like they expected this.”

“That’s…” he sighed again, untold hours of over-analysis locked behind his eyes.

Darcy saw this, and had herself thrown right back into her present.

“I’m being a crappy host, you need something to eat.”

“Definitely,” he stated, as if he’d just recalled, and brushed past her, making a bee-line straight to the kitchen, “I hope Tony didn’t bother you too much?”

“He’s made my life sufficiently horrible, yup, but not on this occasion,” Darcy quirked back, “I mean his quick thinking is the only reason I’m not in some sort of facility.”

His eyes narrowed when he heard that, “Facility?”

“Uh, well, good news, so I’m confirmed not some sort of enemy agent.”

“Good to know I’m not harbouring one,” he spoke through a mouthful of…bread? “but what exactly makes you a contender for facility detainment?”

“Bad news, my genes are wack and we don’t really know why.” Steve’s eyebrows went up at that in a nonverbal questioning.

“No, not super serum wack, more like, how do I put this - magic wack?”

“Magic wack?” He asked, with his mouth no longer full.

“Supernatural wack.”

“So that explains the fireball situation?”

“Supposedly. Apparently, this gene situation spreads with the contact of magic, which I’ve gotten near to before, and this fire ball only visible to me was either a hit, a warning, or the encouragement of the supernatural shit to spread - invisible fire ball being a whole load of magic power and all.”

“This is a lot to take in.” he reflected, aptly biting down on more food.

“You and me both.”

“So, not really meant to affect anyone other than you?”

“That’s what Tony is leaning towards. And I guess Shield caught wind and got a bit handsy… Along with whoever else.”

He approached Darcy, food forgotten in his wake. Steve held her arms, looking down with a sternly worried look, almost trying to spot any visible differences. “So, is anything different? What does it mean if it spreads?”

“I…” Darcy laughed, a bitter aftertaste twisting her face, “I’m not sure what it’ll mean if it keeps spreading or, is already spreading, I mean, I’m still me. I don’t feel any different.”

Steve mulled over her response for a moment, and squeezed her comfortingly before letting go. “That’s good. Let me know if it changes.”

“I’ll try.” Darcy trailed off, probably looking like she jumped straight out of a telenovela in the way which she was wistfully looking out into nothing.

**And the next thing they knew, a meteorite smashed straight through the log store.**

Or, maybe it was a bomb? Darcy didn’t have too much time to ponder it, since the dear Captain had put it upon himself to locate and grab his shield and scoop her up into a quickly retreating bridal carry.

“Jesus fuck, I’m not even surprised anymore, I think I’m a bad omen.” Darcy’s muffled voice commented, slightly smothered by his pecs.

“Take the shield, lock the bathroom door and hide in the linen closet. I’ll see what happened.”

“Sure, be careful.” Darcy called after him, and then utilised the obviously flimsy lock and began stuffing herself into the top half of the wardrobe, blocking visibility to herself via the shield, and then closing the doors in front of her.

This brief moment of isolation after hearing what’d happened to Steve really started to set in. Maybe it took life throwing her in a small linen closet to try to really rationalise everything? From the start, she’d been just going with the flow and accepting that this was just how things were. She was worried about her asshole ex like a week ago, and now lil’ ol’ Darce was dancing with life and death.

It had to have been at least a minute now, Darcy was getting inpatient. She could hear Steve’s commanding voice ringing across the clearing, saying something somewhat aggressively.

_Heh, she was so thinking about that later._

She must’ve been too engrossed in trying to make out the noises from outside, since the cupboard doors were halfway open before she noticed anything. 

“Ah,  _what do we have here_?” A decidedly velvety voice crowed, hand prying the shield away from her with minimal effort.

Darcy, not too unlike to a deer caught in the headlights, froze deathly still in hopes that the intruder worked according to Jurassic park velociraptor logic, and wouldn’t notice her being very much there.

That didn’t seem to work, since the young man stared straight back at her expectantly.

“So, no screaming?” he snarked, his head of soft black waves slightly tilting to one side, hosting his ever-growing smirk.

Now if Darcy was worth even a fraction of the worth Thor’s own shield sister should command, she’d know that this aggravatingly handsome man in front of her was the supposedly dead God of mischief. She did, thank god, but maybe it’d been a lot less alarming if she didn’t.

“You’re Loki.”

“Yes.”

“You’re meant to be dead”

“That is popular belief, yes.”

She desperately wanted to curse him out, but she’d only just barely managed to choke out basic questions.

He studied her further, darkened eyes gracing her hiding form with what seemed to be...mild appraisal? Darcy wasn’t sure what kinda magic shit he was pulling, but the sensation that ran through her body in response were horribly intense - she could feel the shock taking hold of her veins, with an abrupt hot pain pooling at her loins.

His lean figure was wrapped with tightly strung leather, outlining his dips and ridges with ease, green satin accenting the outfit, with metals galore. It had to be on purpose - of what she could remember of Thor’s various godly outfits, none were  _so lewd_. It didn’t help that her oh-so-guilty eyes couldn’t help but take a glance towards his crotch in their trail of examination. It was,  _intimidating_ , to say the least.

All probably a sexual power-move. Maybe a BDSM thing? Whatever it was, it had begrudgingly awakened something slumbering deep within her.

When her ready eyes met his, she certainly wasn’t expecting him to look so hungry. His teeth glinted under his smile, a lean arm found itself resting above, onto the cupboard, and Loki’s stretched form was all that encompassed her. He had leant in, so near that Darcy could feel his balmy breath teasing her throat, blown out pupils staring dead into her own.

“Darcy,” he drawled, elongating his use of her name - just as one would savour the taste of fine wine - soft lips now faintly upon her ear, to which she unthinkingly angled her neck to exposure, moving herself closer to his bewitching words, any logic or self-respect abandoning her completely. Her very being in an expression of clear and overpowering wanton desire, lashes fluttering as his rough notes spoke straight to her core,  _“I think we’re going to get along.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omfg I am so sorry I have no fucking idea why I did this but I guess I was really missing my boi Loki, surprise everyone! Boom. Love triangle. Why do I keep interrupting these two with large explosions? Lazy writing, that’s why.


End file.
